FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY

NAB 2004 POSITIONING STATEMENT

The high definition (HD) wave continues – and it's at tsunami force in the JVC booth at NAB 2004. After making a considerable splash at NAB 2003 with the launch of the JY-HD10U, the world's first professional hand-held HDV camcorder with user-selectable standard definition (SD) and full HD recording capabilities, JVC now pulls the wraps off and clearly demonstrates their ground breaking vision of delivering affordable, HD products to the industry with several exciting new products and technologies -- as well as considerable support from third-party companies for their innovative high definition video approach.

The Market Demands…HD

Every week, the HD numbers tell the story – consumer preference for High Definition continues its steady rise. As the government-mandated deadline for digital TV broadcasting draws closer, nearly 1,200 stations have completed the DTV conversion and more than 99.6% of all U.S. Households have access to digital broadcasts.

For most program producers and broadcasters, the rapidly growing momentum toward a market of High Definition consumer viewers speaks volumes to the syndication and archive value of High Definition production. Moreover, the demographic profile of High Definition viewers makes this an attractive up-market target for current narrowcast or broadcast medium advertisers. Today, for most program producers and broadcasters there is no longer a debate over "when" High Definition will become a significant market factor – that day has indisputably arrived. Nor is there much debate over the incremental value of High Definition program production (versus Standard Definition production).

The High Definition hurdles most program producers and broadcasters face today have everything to do with "How", "When" and "R.O.I." Moreover, most video equipment manufacturers offer little encouragement regarding the proposition of a transition to High Definition. Comments such as "The market is not ready", "High Definition is too complicated" and "The high cost of High Definition makes it totally impractical for most of today's standard definition applications" create the impression that a future of High Definition production is limited to the elite few. The prospect of High Definition newsgathering has been virtually ruled out as economically and technologically impractical. For many traditional standard definition applications, it seems the future vision is destined to be described in Standard Definition.

Technological breakthroughs in this domain are seemingly relegated to productivity enhancements.

Conventional wisdom seems to have ruled out the prospect of widespread High Definition use, for reasons of impractically high data rates, incompatibility with most existing production and broadcast plant infrastructures, a cumbersome inflexibility to accomplish many traditional standard definition tasks as well as excessive equipment and media costs.

JVC is a culture of "out of the box" thinking. As one of the most experienced developers of MPEG compression technology and with extensive experience working with the Entertainment Industry to create the widely adopted Digital Dailies system, faced with the proposition of widespread practical High Definition production, JVC's engineers have asked, "Why not?" The state of the art certainly permits it.

At NAB 2004, JVC unveils its vision of a future of practical and affordable High Definition production. Though still in its infancy, JVC's vision clearly describes how High Definition can be embraced and implemented by many users who may have felt High Definition is simply beyond reach for their foreseeable future. With its "Affordable HD" approach , JVC is helping make high quality HD production an affordable and practical reality. In contrast to some other voices being heard at NAB, JVC's approach utilizes familiar, non-proprietary and easily accessible media incorporating flexible, backward compatibility to many existing SD installations. Incorporating optional HD-SDI interfaces, this innovative concept seamlessly integrates with much more costly, higher bandwidth HD systems. JVC's Professional HD features digital I/O enabling high-quality material to be transferred entirely within the digital domain for editing, finishing and distribution.

With an understanding that most sophisticated program producers and broadcasters wish to avoid the confining and often expensive experience of proprietary solutions, JVC has shared its High Definition vision with other leading technology providers, with gratifying results. At NAB 2004, more than twenty leading technology providers have embraced JVC's High Definition approach, asking to help open the door to the industry's true High Definition future. An array of the industry's leading non-linear editing system providers are joined by microwave and satellite transmission suppliers to demonstrate the truly remarkable extent to which High Definition can be applied to many of today's conventional Standard Definition applications. With the ability to implement HD with little or no cost penalty over SD, and with a growing consumer appetite for high definition, JVC's affordable HD is clearly on the fast track.

JVC's Professional HD vision enables true industry innovations, including practical HD electronic newsgathering/electronic field production (ENG/EFP), long-form HD production and affordable HD cinematography, among others.

At NAB 2004, the question many sophisticated users will find themselves asking is, … If your plans include upgrading a facility and you found that High Definition is within reach for about the cost of standard-definition systems such as XDCAM or P2, are you ready to make the Professional HD transition?"

Low-Cost High Performance Technologies

At JVC, the focus is helping customers improve the numbers that matter most: The Bottom Line.

JVC Professional HD products all use the MPEG-2 HD compression scheme -- the same method used in broadcast HD program transmission contributing to operating cost savings in processing, asset management and archiving. To seamlessly integrate with high bit-rate proprietary systems such as HDCAM, D5-HD, DVCPRO HD and Vericam, JVC uses an optional HDSDI interface that processes uncompressed HD video signals.

Building on the company'sHDV foundation, JVC's Professional HD vision extends well beyond, with products and systems that ultimately support most primary HD image formats, including 24p. JVC's vision even includes a full HD 1920x1080 native resolution projection system.

JVC offers an array of Professional HD products, many of which are HD/SD selectable and fully backward compatible with existing SD DV, Professional DV and DVCam systems. Thanks to JVC's sensible, non-proprietary, Professional HD concept, customers can continue to leverage their existing DV-based infrastructure.

HD Innovations

From the camera that records in MPEG-2 stream to the encoders, decoders and players on display at NAB, JVC consistently demonstrates that it can deliver uncompromising high-quality HD content at reduced bit rates and affordable prices.

With the preview showing of a prototype of the world's first Professional HD three-chip HD ENG/EFP-style camcorder, JVC reveals the near-term range of its HD camcorder plan. The HD/SD-compatible camera utilizes Rockwell/JVC-developed 2/3" CMOS imaging technology producing optimal HD picture quality that's interlace or progressive switchable. This innovative camcorder features built-in MPEG-2 HD encoding, enabling up to 4.5 hours of continuous HD/SD record and playback with full-size DV cassette media. JVC's vision also includes an optional High Definition direct to edit (DTE) disc recording module, as well as solid-state modules for tapeless recording, just as JVC pioneered in Standard Definiton.

Also being shown at NAB is a prototype full-featured HD studio deck that brings Professional HD into the mainstream. The HD/SD compatible recorder features a built-in MPEG-2 HD encoder, offering uncompromising performance customary in high-end HD decks. An optional HD-SDI interface enables seamless integration with existing HD systems. Up to 4.5 hours of continuous HD/SD record and playback is possible with inexpensive full-size media.

An exciting and affordable breakthrough HD product is JVC's HD MPEG-2 encoder, that that brings the proposition of HD remotes into reality. The DM-JV600 is a multi-format HDTV encoder that takes HD-SDI signals and encodes them into a compressed HD MPEG-2 format, providing an ASI interface. With encoding time under one second, the DM-JV600 is the missing link to the HD ENG puzzle. The remarkable encoder enables HD remotes utilizing existing SD microwave or satellite uplinks. With the DM-JV600U HD encoder, it becomes possible to relay pristine HD live shots from the field back to the station using existing live trucks and helicopters. The DM-JV600 opens the door between existing high bit rate HD systems and JVC's Professional HD concept, enabling seamless HDCam, DVCPRO HD and JVC Professional HD system integration.

The camera that started it all, the JY-HD10U HD camera was JVC's first expression of affordable HD offering extraordinary picture quality, using widely available Mini DV media and easy IEEE1394 connectivity. Since its introduction, the JY-HD10U has ushered in considerable support from the non-linear editing community and has been used for countless television, film and music video projects.

An ideal compliment to the JY-HD10U camcorder is the new CU-VH1U-P HDV field record/playback deck featuring an integrated HD MPEG 720p/30 encoder and LCD screen. The CU-VH1 lets editors spool HD content from tape to their non-linear editing (NLE) system ,and then record the edited program back to tapewithout using the JY-HD10U.

JVC's line of affordable HD products also includes the DT-V1710CGU / DT-V1910CGU DTV monitors. These user-selectable HD/SD capable monitors offer true multi-format display and audio monitoring in a single monitor. Featuring three expansion slots, the incredibly versatile units support most formats available in the marketplace, including HD, SD, NTSC, PAL, 480p, 1080i, 720p or 24pSF cinema configurations.

Breakthrough Applications

JVC's affordable HD technologies are expanding the universe of professional solutions.

Non-proprietary, affordable HD acquisition and low data rates bring HD ENG/EFP to a practical reality, with acquisition costs similar to competing SD ENG systems. Capturing and delivering remote news in HD format is made possible and affordable with low data rates that enable the use of existing microwave and satellite uplink signal relay. HD/SD selectable acquisition allows easy integration and transition from existing SD systems as well as full backward compatibility with existing DV, Professional DV and DVCam investments, extending rather than obsoleting user investments in legacy systems. From a purely marketing perspective, many broadcasters believe presenting news and remote feeds in HD demonstrates a commitment to leadership in the local market.

Outstanding innovations that allow simultaneous HD recording on optional hard drive or memory modules help speed digital workflow for the creation of long-form documentaries and feature productions in HD.

Long-form documentary creators can employ any number of leading NLE systems to drive the post-production process, while JVC's HDV studio deck is equally comfortable in most sophisticated post environments or individual producer facilities. In addition, pristine HD video combines with four-hour recording capacity helps extends the commercial life of long-form programming.

For the HD filmmaker, JVC's unique 24P HD capability enables commercial, feature motion picture production. Flexible camera configuration combined with uncompromising picture quality delivers substantial production cost savings while preserving picture quality.

Finis!

The JVC vision is to build practical, affordable HD products of uncompromising quality that can stand a wide range of sophisticated and demanding applications. It's a vision that began with the JY-HD10U and has seen remarkable progress and support. What you will see at NAB is evidence of JVC's vision becoming reality.

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